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Avera McKennan is Chosen as a Best Employer for Workers over 50 by AARP

Published on June 18, 2013

Avera McKennan is Chosen as a Best Employer for Workers over 50 by AARP

SIOUX FALLS (June 17, 2013) – Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center has been named a winner of the 2013 AARP Best Employers for Workers Over 50 Award. This is the second time Avera McKennan has been named to this prestigious list – the last time was 2011.

Cosponsored by AARP and the Society for Human Resource Management, this award recognizes 50 employers that have demonstrated exemplary practices with regard to recruitment, retention and promotion of older workers. The AARP Best Employers for Workers Over 50 program awards businesses and organizations that have implemented new and innovative policies and best practices in attracting and retaining top talent in today's multigenerational workforce.

Now celebrating its 12th anniversary, this AARP program recognizes that a growing number of U.S. employers are developing progressive policies and practices that are meeting the needs of the country's aging workforce. By 2016, one-third of the total U.S. workforce will be age 50 or older, up from 28 percent in 2007.

Programs at Avera McKennan which are attractive to older workers include flexible work environments and scheduling, educational opportunities, life and health benefits, retirement plan, a commitment to work-life balance, and an excellent employee health program. Avera McKennan develops partnerships, for example, with Sioux Falls’ Center for Active Generations, to cultivate contacts with prospective employees. For retirees and others who wish to make a meaningful contribution to their community, Avera McKennan involves more than 1,000 volunteers in many varied opportunities.

At Avera McKennan, nearly one-third of employees are 50+. It is a workplace culture that values the experience of the mature worker, with flexible work options such as temporary assignments, consulting or contract work. In addition, the average tenure for Avera McKennan employees over the age of 50 is nine years.

“Avera McKennan’s goal is to be the employer of choice for talented and skilled workers, regardless of their age,” said Lynne Hagan, Human Resources Officer at Avera McKennan. “We highly value our workers over 50 for a number of reasons, including their strong work ethic and sense of values, vast life experience, wisdom, common sense and professional skill.”

Names of the AARP Best Employers for Workers Over 50 will be published in AARP The Magazine, which is distributed to more than 24 million households. AARP Best Employers for Workers Over 50 honorees will recognized at the SHRM Annual Conference in Chicago in June.